How Long Does it Take to Get Your Marriage License?

vulpiepop · February 2015

So I know we're a little late in getting one as we're 2 weeks away from our wedding day. FI has been busy working late hours and just recently switched jobs and now is busy with that and I got hired for a full time position as a graphic designer with a 1+ hour commute to and from work. We've been very busy and with all of these changes, we actually forgot about it until now! The wedding day is really sneaking up on us quick and we're both going to have to be late for work one day to get the license (my boss is REALLY not going to like that...)

Anyway, I was wondering from those who have already gotten their licenses how long it took for you to get it? Did they just give you one the day you went to get one? Did you have to make an appointment (I don't see anything about making appointments on the county site)?

theartistformerlyknownas · February 2015

Depends on your state/county rules. Ours took 3 days but the place was only open one day a week. You could pay extra to expedite and get it the same day.

manateehugger · February 2015

This is massively going to vary by state and county (and country!). Most county's have FAQs on their websites I imagine - people get married all the time.

We got married in Missouri. We didn't make an appointment (not sure our county clerk's office even took appointments), swung through over lunch on a weekday, were out of there in about 20 minutes with the license and preordered a couple copies, had our pastor fill it out on our wedding day, and got it back about 10 days later.

I know some states require you to apply for a license, and then send you a separate certificate document after the wedding. I imagine this takes longer than MO's process.

lyndausvi · February 2015

depends.

We got married in NJ. We had to apply no later than the Tuesday before a Saturday wedding due to a 72 hour wait period. Then you had to go back to get the license.

The actually amount of time wasn't too bad. 15 minutes or so. There was no one ahead of us. When we picked it up it was another 10 or so minutes. Again we were lucky that no one was ahead of us. I imagined a busy city/municipality could have some long lines.

SmileDamnit · February 2015

Yup - totally depends on the state. In MT, we were in & out, with license in hand, in about 20 minutes. Took the signed document back the day after the wedding and walked out 5 minutes later with it officially stamped & with copies.

JennyColada · February 2015

Ours was same day. The whole process took about 35 minutes.

Cookie Pusher · February 2015

We had to make an appointment with the town clerk, bring the proper forms of ID and a witness along with the application. It took us about 10 minutes total to get everything signed and stamped, then a 72 hour waiting period before we could actually get the license itself.

mrscomposer · February 2015

Where we are, we just walked in, filled out everything we could that wasn't actually ceremony related, she kept a copy of the top part, and we took it with us. Took maybe 20 minutes. Then our pastor filled out the bottom, we signed where we needed to during the ceremony, and he mailed it in the next day. We got the actual license about a month or so after.

We had to get it at least three days before the wedding (but up to three months before).

kaitlynmichelle · February 2015

Our officiant met with us in her home and we had it all ready in 10 mins the night before the wedding. Our province has no waiting period and we got married in a small area so she was the only officiant around and also was the person that issues the licenses for the area.

wrigleyville · February 2015

It totally depends on the day and where you live.

We got married in Vegas. I had filled out the form online, which saved a TON of time, as we were able to wait in the "express" line instead of the regular line. We were in line for about 20 minutes or so. Everyone in the regular line had a two-hour wait.

We went on a Thursday, and our wedding was in late October, so that probably had a lot to do with the wait.

You might want to check and see if you can fill stuff out and bring it with you. That saves quite a bit of time.

ashley8918 · February 2015

mrscomposer said:

Where we are, we just walked in, filled out everything we could that wasn't actually ceremony related, she kept a copy of the top part, and we took it with us. Took maybe 20 minutes. Then our pastor filled out the bottom, we signed where we needed to during the ceremony, and he mailed it in the next day. We got the actual license about a month or so after.
We had to get it at least three days before the wedding (but up to three months before).

Same here.

WinstonsGirl · February 2015

Married in Hawaii. We filled out the form online before (as per our Officiant's request). We met at the Dept of Health when they opened so we were first in line. We were in and out in about 20 mins and then went over the ceremony. Our officiant took care of everything after. We received the certificate in the mail about 3 months later, but we live in Canada, so it took longer. We could have paid to get it faster but didn't need it so didn't bother.

lovesclimbing · February 2015

Alaska has a three-day waiting period. You go in and apply for it and come back three days later to pick it up.

AddieCake · February 2015

We got ours the Wednesday before our wedding. We couldn't get it further than a month out, and my husband was out of state working until then.There was a 3-day waiting period from the time we got it until the time we could get married. It took only about 20 minutes. The guy asked us some questions, (one of which was "Are you related?") we paid, and signed, and were done.

LadyMillil · February 2015

We had to make an appointment. It took about 15 minutes. There was no waiting period so we got the license the day before the wedding.

How Long Does it Take to Get Your Marriage License?

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